About 50 people were killed and nearly 300 injured in violence that broke out in Chad on Thursday as hundreds took to the streets to demand a quicker transition to democratic rule. Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo, who gave the death toll at a news conference, said the government was still compiling casualties from what he described as an armed insurrection. But human rights groups said that unarmed civilians were massacred as security forces brutally cracked down on
demonstrations in the capital, N'Djamena, and several other cities. For more on the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, FRANCE 24 is joined by Paul MELLY. Journalist & Researcher on West Africa, the Sahel and Madagascar; and Consulting Fellow for the Africa Programme at Chatham House. The current situation in Chad is "a breach of the standard rule in the African Union," he explains. Mr. Melly adds that "people who come to power through a coup or some sort of non-constitutional situation don't have the right to run in the subsequent elections. So, that's what's brought people out onto the streets in protest."
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